


Come and collect

by fish_wifey



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Light Angst, M/M, Magical Accidents, Magical Realism, Magical Tattoos, Soul Bond
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-05
Updated: 2018-11-05
Packaged: 2019-08-19 05:51:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16528625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fish_wifey/pseuds/fish_wifey
Summary: Kuguri has a tattoo he doesn't understand and wants to find his fated person. However, a witch opens up a portal, causing a little accident.Shibayama receives a tattoo he wasn't ready for, and doesn't know what to do about it, if he should do anything at all.Kuroo and Daishou are just annoyed.





	Come and collect

**Author's Note:**

> Things I'm doing instead of looking at 'Stupid & Triumphant' 8DDD which! I will go back to hopefully this week ;v;
> 
> Mention of daimika bc its canon but its not overly present. Also I like the idea of nohebi using first name basis/nicknames with each other .v.b  
> I started this fic some time ago but when I returned to it I had no idea what my original intentions were. So I finished editing/reading through Naoyasu’s pov then decided to take Yuuki’s and just see where I’m ending up with!
> 
> I have a feeling I could have gone more into exploring their relationship of having them go through some trivial stuff/make this more action-packed?? for now I'll keep it at this one-shot, and will try to focus on my other kugushiba wips!

Of all the sharp eyes who could have seen it first, Naoyasu ends up being glad it was his captain who motioned to his chest first. Numai would have been too blunt and too loud, demanding answers which Naoyasu didn’t have. Hiroo would have been staring, nosy, too curious for Naoyasu’s self-consciousness to handle. Sakishima would have been equally bold, and teasing on top. Seguro would have been a softer version of Numai, if only he knew what personal space was. 

All in all, Daishou seeing the black marks on Naoyasu’s chest turns out rather helpful.

“Oh? Now that’s interesting.” Daishou motions with his water bottle, wiping his mouth dry with his shirt. “Didn’t you mention you weren’t into people in general?”

It’s too late to turn and hide. Naoyasu looks down on his chest the best he can, running a finger over the black lines that had appeared overnight. Paired but hidden from the eyes of others was a smaller cat, right above Naoyasu’s hip bone. Naoyasu’s chest shows paw marks, too tiny if you’re not right in front of them. They start at his heart and lead to where the black cat hides in the v-shape of his hip, like a thief. Curled in on itself as if it had any right to be there. 

Pulling the shirt over his head before anyone else can notice the interaction, Naoyasu looks through his eyelashes towards Daishou, pleading.

‘I don’t know what to do…’

Daishou’s eyes slit the way they do when he receives telekinetic streams of thought, translates them to words within his mind. A soft click of his tongue responds to it when he has all the information he needs. Naoyasu has little to add before he’s being shoved right out of the door, not given the opportunity to apologize being bumped into one of his teammates. Outside, walking a little away from the door first, Daishou pulls up the hem of Naoyasu’s shirt. Right beside the cat were roman initials. Naoyasu wondered if that indicated a foreigner...

“Right, let me see it again. S. Y. huh? And you obviously haven’t a clue who this person might be?” Daishou looks up from where he’s bend forward on his knees, inspecting the lines of western writing. Tattoo’s had the ability to be very specific and informative, down to giving latitudes and altitudes of the person’s ever changing position or even a way to contact them right away. Naoyasu figured it was his personality that influenced the information given. It left him able to choose not to pursue, after all.

“No one came to mind right away. I did give it some thought.” Naoyasu explains, showing his willingness. Daishou nods after standing up, then runs his fingers through his sleek hair, which falls back into place as if untouched. A quality Naoyasu knows doesn’t come from a magic touch, but is as natural as Daishou’s hair colour. 

“Hmmm, so we have a mystery to solve. If you’re eager to solve it, that is. I’m not going through any kinds of trouble outside our normal activities just for you to take a peek, understood?” Daishou points an accusing finger towards Naoyasu, not out of suspicion for him, but given the circumstances of previous outings of such a nature. 

“Yes captain.” Naoyasu says fast, easing Daishou into the idea of helping. He watches him unfold, lowering his shoulders and with it the defenses. A soft smile changes Daishou’s face, like any of his smiles can indicate a shift of thought and intent. It’s the kind of person Naoyasu got to know within the first workshop week in the club, when the warm smile was directed to other first year’s struggling to keep up with their senpai. 

“Okay, I’ll ask my girlfriend to help out later. I guess you don’t want Kouji’s or Isutan’s help..?” Daishou asks, already knowing the answer. Doesn’t need to read minds for it. He waves Naoyasu off, then heads back inside the club-room. Business first, and the club matters so much to Daishou. Without meaning too, Naoyasu has a desperate thought that Daishou might just warn the rest of the team, just in case. He really hopes his captain won’t. 

As soon as he thinks it, Daishou hesitates at the door. His hands linger on the door frame and the door itself. After a moment, he turns his head to Naoyasu one last time. 

“Got it, my lips are sealed. I’m a knower of secrets, not a giver of them. Oh, and Kuguri?”

Naoyasu holds his arm for protection, thanking the deities of this kindly protection and understanding figure in his life. He gives his attention to Daishou fully when he looks up from the sidewalk. Daishou grins widely, the kind that knows there’s no rejection in his future when he says—

“You’re going to do 50 jump serves with me today! Serving and receiving, 100 total.”

 

*

 

*

 

*

 

Daishou’s girlfriend was known this side of Tokyo as a witch. Or at least, the persona she put on online and through her secondary phone contacts. No one knew what she looked like in real life, except those who were in the know. And those who did know, were either good friends of hers, or of Daishou’s. Naoyasu was quite sure that 90% of the school didn’t know that one of the most famous and powerful witches was only 17 years of age and walking among them. Most of the populace walked past their street corner, uncaring for a couple of high school kids. Naoyasu didn’t feel exposed, not by the people. But just by these pair of eyes of a girl so much smaller than him. So much more power in her veins.

And she looked at him as if he was a filthy insect not worthy of her presence. 

“Uhm,” he starts, nervous under her gaze. Her arms crossed over her uniform, she guards herself against too much emotional baggage that other’s might put out. Yamaka's face turns to Daishou. Between them, not a word is said in audible terms for Naoyasu’s ears to hear or understand. There’s a faint buzz in the air. Those with good eyes (or those that have enhanced their sight or were given Sight-birthright) would notice the crackle of static and barely visible dots traveling back and forth between them. Naoyasu could see only because Daishou let him, but the language was not for him. 

“Please,” Daishou says out loud, his hands running under Yamaka's arms to retrieve her smaller hands, which he holds close to his lips. “Please, for me. It’s important.”

Turning on the balls of his feet, Naoyasu’s eyes glance away as his body faces the other side. It wasn’t as if Daishou is shy with his love for Yamaka, even though it’s not a given in their world. But beings of heigher power didn’t care about the rules of mere human society, and Daishou’s love was overflowing. As such, Naoyasu looks away, not wanting to intrude in the tender moment evolving in front of him. 

In the distance, the Tokyo sun has vanished behind the concrete and glass, allowing the neon signs to run amok and light up the city in their own unique style and colour overload. It still was a place for high school students to roam after hours, but soon it would be time to be off the streets. It was common knowledge of the club members that Daishou’s girlfriend didn’t like to wait for him after class, and would find ways to spend time with her friends in the city. But once he was out of the gym, they would find each other. 

‘The snake and the flower,’ Hiroo had put it in poetic terms. His smirk and the resounding laugh had the first years question who in fact was who. Naoyasu understood it easily; the terms were interchangeable, melting together. They both had thorns and sharp teeth that could spit poison at will. When they talk, there’s none of it, and Naoyasu finds it safe to return his gaze to them.

“Alright, fine. Where does he has the tattoo?”

“Rib-cage area, going down but not _too much_. You only need to touch it with your nail—”

“Shh, relax. I am not mad,” Yamaka a says in softer tones, fabric rustling when she hugs him. Naoyasu’s eyes immediately travel to the sky above. The absence of sound makes him uncomfortable. He waits until he’s spoken to directly, this time. “Hey, what’s your name again, fire-head?”

“Kuguri.” Naoyasu says as he turns, his eyes looking just above the crown of Yamaka's head. When he can sense her annoyance, he quickly adds— “Naoyasu.” 

It was dangerous to give a witch your name. Yamaka could have read it in the student’s registry, could have seen it on the volleyball roster, could have heard from Daishou’s own mouth. But giving your name personally was handing a large knife to a person previously holding a branch. There was nothing Naoyasu could change about that now, and he didn’t want to think too much about it, either. Daishou would think him weak and afraid. 

“Okay, come over here and show me the ink?” Yamaka requests, kinder than Naoyasu has ever been allowed to see her. When he walks forward, he keeps his eyes to the ground, not wanting to invade the shared space of the couple too much. He lifts his shirt, feeling warm in the neck. It isn’t exactly because there’s a girl or his captain close by. Naoyasu has never felt anything towards another human being, unlike most others in his age group and beyond. Deep down, he’s afraid of knowing more, in the same measure he needs to know everything there is.

Yamaka’s long, manicured nail touches the cat for a second. When she removes it, black soot comes off. She lifts her outstretched finger up, and twirls the soot in the air to analyze. Naoyasu notices a royal blue sheen of protection around them, so no one else will see what’s happening. Yamaka cast it, without blinking. Such are the mind-powers of a witch who could enforce a new law and order, but rather wishes to be a normal high school kid with a gentle side job of helping others in her age group. 

Interested in her powers and how they work, what they can do, Naoyasu looks up, seeing strange letters appear. They spin to Yamaka’s bidding. Putting the hem of his shirt down, he watches in awe. Daishou grins full of pride, the side of his face next to his eyes wrinkling. He starts to explain. 

“Magic leaves a trace. Any kind has its own code and language,” he whispers, not wanting to ruin Yamaka’s concentration. She murmurs under her breath, her eyes lighting up; a yellow circle appears in them, eerie and dangerous. The strange letters rearrange and connect. Some are straight and bright, others squiggly, and others appear like smoke. “She can read it all. It’s a gift she was born with; full understanding of magic properties. Anything that’s not normal or rare, is a piece of cake for her.”

Knowledge, entrusted to Naoyasu as naturally as a recipe. Knowledge, told to those Daishou cares about; a small circle of the regulars in the team, minus bench players like Naoyasu himself. He’s not sure what matches this kind of trust more; a connecting bridge, or a bridge burned, with him now on the other side. Naoyasu locks the secrets of other people within the deepest confinement, because unlike Daishou who just knows, Naoyasu is a secret-keeper. He cannot tell what he knows of other people once it’s said in private and with no intention or direct order to be told further.

His ribs hurt at a sudden shock which rumbles all the way through his legs. The lettering falls apart and becomes a circle, and they travel counter-clockwise for Yamaka. Soot black on the bottom, the top round of the circle becomes smokey grey, opening a small portal. From the top of where the strange letters appear less visible, an image he’s been mum about drops down. The roundish circle comes to a halt, and in its mid-spiral the previous curled up cat visibly.

It’s red as flame, with white tips for ears, paws, and snoot.

Yamaka’s finger, still apart from her fist, pokes it. Her eyes glow brighter in the yellow golden hues, and her hair floats when her head turns, as if underwater. It takes forever to fall. 

_**“More.”**_ As she speaks, a rumble that shakes the buildings in between they stand. It scares away rodents, and shakes through Naoyasu from the bottom of his soles upwards this time. He immediately thinks of the tattoo hidden in such a private spot. Unwilling to show it off to anyone, Naoyasu gulps down his fear for the witch, and hardens his resolve. He cannot tell her no, so he opts to not speak. 

“No, you can work with what you have, Mika-chan.” Daishou says as he steps in front of him, nonchalant in his action but obvious nonetheless. Yamaka’s chin trusts up, and when she huffs out an exhale, Naoyasu can smell flowers and greenery, parks and trees. The moment is gone with another whisk of Yamaka’s hair, and the circle of lettering tightens, becomes smaller. They merge into a sizzling cracker, landing in the palm of Yamaka’s hand. Red dust with tiny white spots.

Her words are directed to Daishou. “You won’t like this.”

“...What should there be for me to like or not?” Daishou questions and his hands shove deep into his uniform pants sockets, as if Naoyasu’s private life is none of his business. It shouldn’t be, Naoyasu agrees, but it's too easy to see through the reasoning why it could be.

Volleyball.

Yamaka looks towards her closed fists, where the dust hisses like a firecracker in golden sparks. Daishou faces Naoyasu.

“Listen, whatever it is… Don’t quit club or any of the practices. As long as you come like usual, I don’t have any complaints.” Daishou laughs, about to list all the ways Naoyasu could make this worse, but how Daishou is sure he wouldn’t. He doesn’t make it far, given that Yamaka walks between. She gives Naoyasu an apologetic smile, then gives him the small golden ball of light and fire. 

When it falls into his hand, he can feel the shift of ink on his skin. Widening in space, prickling across sensitive areas. The cat uncurls, yawns, and stretches once more into a bigger stance. Taking up more space than before. Naoyasu’s visions swims and the real world disappears to show another reality playing out elsewhere. The alley gone, Naoyasu looks at a boy his age, smaller in size and his hair the opposite of Naoyasu’s in form and colour. He’s standing, too, and the boy turns as if Naoyasu calls to him.

He’s trying to find a noise that appears when realities shift between, when time and distance are overcome by magic. It leaves a trace, as nature bows to a higher power. But dark eyes don’t see, and he’s not alone either. All Naoyasu sees is black hair parted in the middle, a half-open mouth. A uniform that’s different from those around him. And there’s no nature, either. Just bright lights and high ceilings. The sounds of a hundred people cheering. 

While the tattoo is back in his skin, Naoyasu’s palm burns as if the firecracker still goes off. He feels his destiny re-aligning as new influences have entered its path. The boy sees him, even though he cannot determine shape or colour, wouldn’t be able to; Naoyasu can only appear like the tattoo, like the lettering; black lower body, near invisible grey smokey torso, and a head hidden in it’s fumes.

But the boy is all colour for Naoyasu, and he watches the eyes widen.

Naoyasu’s breath gets stucks in his throat when he sees the uniform colour the boy wears, from his side of the bench where he’s been cheering on a match of his team. 

“What is it?” Daishou bickers with Yamaka, who’s reluctant to tell him the truth. She leaves that to Naoyasu.

White shirt with red lettering and accents. Naoyasu’s soulmate is from Nekoma, Nohebi’s rival team, their captains disliking each other.

 

*

 

*

 

*

 

On the other side of Tokyo, at Nekoma’s volleyball gymnasium, Yuuki faints. 

His hand stretches out to Sou in a last attempt to alert him, to say he’s sorry. Then he feels his back hit the floor, and the world goes black.

Yet in the blackness is a spectrum; the textures shift, dense at the bottom, light as air on top. It’s shapeless, divided in three rough lines that melt together. There’s swirls between the lines, and Yuuki wakes up nauseous. 

A shock goes through those leaning over him. Kuroo’s hand holds his arm on one side, Yamamoto on the other. And behind where Yuuki cannot see without craning his neck, Kai’s eight fingers rest on his temple, the only calm person in the large area. Beyond his feet, Yuuki can sense the restlessness of his team, the coaches, the referees, the other team for today’s practice match. They’re held at bay by Yaku, because no one else could.

He hears Yaku’s voice first. “Good god, what is that?” 

Whatever it is, doesn’t cause pain. Yuuki feels discomfort only because unknown touches that aren’t human cover his face, run over his shoulders, and link between his fingers. He’s pulled up by an invisible force, able to sit up when Kuroo and Yamamoto urge him not to. 

“It’s fine,” Yuuki says, with a voice that isn’t his. He’s afraid of horns growing, of being captured in vines and thorns, to have marks all over his body. That’s what curses feel like, he’s heard but never experienced. When he touches his forehead sans Kai’s fingers, he feels nothing out of the ordinary. His skin is smooth. Hands are clean of any at all anomalies. But Yaku saw something with his eyes, or his hidden third upon his chest…

“Yuuki, don’t get up too fast. You might… you might disturb your uh. Your person.”

Yuuki breathes out, his vision returning, his senses restarting. It’s when he feels the gentle breath of another person, the warmth in his hands. 

Crowding in front of him is the shape he saw before he lost consciousness. It holds his hands. It moves when Yuuki does, giving him space to stand. Behind Yuuki, Kai speaks an incarnation, a suggestion to the spirit. Not a reverse summoning to make it go away, because doing that could rip apart laws of magic and humans. 

“Your presence does more harm than good. So within the powers of my caretaker abilities, I’m requesting you to take a less invasive and adversarial form. Anything to make the life of my charge easier. Until you meet two are able to meet in person, I request you to become what Yuuki is for you at the moment. If there’s a connection of a kind established, mimic that form,” Kai asks, his voice low. Even though he requests it in the most gentle of forms, there’s a firmness in his voice that doesn’t want to hear argument. 

The sheer shape disappears, into Yuuki’s palm. The warmth intensifies to a heat that isn’t painful… and Yuuki’s face shows colour to the embarrassing fact that this kind of sensation reminds him of being alone in bed at night after a long day… When he needs rest and relieve and to be alone in the dark with his baser thoughts. When his hands run down his body in sensual ways and his mind drifts to imagery he’s never gone through himself.

Kuroo hunches over him, as Yamamoto take a respectful step back. The stripes covering Yamamoto’s rib cage must have told him about the pheromones and rise in lust Yuuki’s body feels. Kuroo, who’s hardened like steel, wouldn’t know such things. 

“You’re red in the face… do you have a fever?” 

Yamamoto answers instead with a shake of his head, which Yuuki sees from the corner of his eyes as he looks down in shame. 

“Okay, okay… Yamamoto, could you take him to the nursery?”

The heat covers him top to body. Yuuki’s feet feel shaky, just like after he made himself orgasm. Suffering the embarrassment, he walks towards Yamamoto, who walks him off the court and out of the gymnasium. They go between buildings, up the stairs, finding the nurse’s office. The nurse leaves the office, saying they would give privacy to important moments in a young person’s life. They must have sensed the disruption of force and time, as nurses usually could.

When the door closes behind them, Yamamoto undresses and puts his clothes neatly folded on the top of a nearby bed. Then he changes into his tiger form. With heightened senses, the tiger eyes go a specific spot. Then, Yamamoto boops Yuuki’s knees, and makes him go towards the mirror. Yuuki walks there, not sure why. The heat is apparent all over his body, but neither his arms or legs show any sign of change. Yamamoto’s tail wishes back and forth, his golden eyes locking onto Yuuki’s shoulder blade. _Your person is present_ says a voice from within Yuuki, and it sounds like Kai. Person. The word Yaku used. The word he, Kai, and Kuroo would use to indicate someone important, someone who could… be more than a friend or an acquaintance. 

Shuddering, Yuuki walks to the full body mirror, and removes his uniform shirt. The anomaly hits him in the face. The shock of it makes his knees even weaker. Yamamoto’s large tiger form comes up from behind to steady him, to keep him standing when Yuuki would fall once more. 

Starting from the inside of his arms, curling round and round over until it comes from behind the shoulders, a black snake with scale details hisses it’s tongue towards his chest. Its head lies at ease across Yuuki’s collarbone, it’s tongue and teeth outstretched to his heart. There’s no colour details to be seen.

Not until the snake’s head moves once sunlight filters into the room. It’s eyes glow yellow and green.

 

*

 

*

 

*

 

Fukunaga looks at the snake for an extended time. It’s silent in the clubroom; most members have given them space, standing far away from the door. 

In the door, guardian Yaku and captain Kuroo stand guard from the inside, while Yamamoto lies in his tiger from at the outside. Apart from Kai and Fukunaga, there is no one else. The match was cancelled, and both teams agreed to do a total re-match next week. Magical interference wasn’t uncommon, but they haven’t happened to either teams, not like this. 

Not in the form of a soulmate appearing out of nowhere and in the most invasive, thunderous way. Not when a tattoo appears on a person in the middle of the day and without a warning. Yuuki’s classmates, of which some had other club activities outside the gym, related to Kuroo and Yaku how there had been a swirl of crows in the courtyard. Two murders, it seemed, going in opposite directions of each other. The tell-tale sign of changes for two persons, the coming of life altering events. 

Fate, speaking. The black feathers would break the air in words only their chosen kin could understand. And no one from Karasuno had been present to hear, no recording had been made to show them later. Sawamura had asked all sorts of question no one could answer, given that the appearance of these crows was so out of nowhere, an act that defied common sense for those who have never witnessed it and only heard of such strange sightings. 

So instead, Fukunaga bends his eyes over the snake. His eyes wide, his pupils still, his mind working overdrive. 

And in the end, he can only say: “”It’s a soulmate tattoo alright. And it’s giving no information apart from the roman letters ‘K. N.’ beside the tail.” 

“I could have told him that. Anyone could have,” Yaku says, arms crossed over his chest. There’s no malice in his voice. Like Yuuki, he just wished there had been… more. 

“Your person had a magical tattoo manifest first. A powerful source helped him search for you. Then without intending to, a connection was made through the two-way stream, marking you. I don’t think this ghostly appearance had any bad intention but… it would have been tough to hold hands with smoke or to constantly see his spirit in front of you. Distracting. In a way that would get you to find him,” Fukunaga explains at length, and without inserting a joke. It shows the seriousness of the situation. 

“You’re using gender. How can you know for sure?” Kuroo asks, despite even Yuuki saw two times a male body without it having true substance and a moving shape…

“Because… Shibayama-kun is gay, and magic abides to the rules of attraction. He wouldn’t be paired with a girl. He could have been paired with someone who is either no gender or all or changing, but it’s pretty straightforward which such things. By reasoning that Shibayama-kun only has interest in a male body, in someone who defines himself as a guy, I figured it has to be a boy.”

“...Oh, okay,” Kuroo says, as Yaku stares into nothing. They knew, somewhat. Yuuki had told them all, in a way. Except Yamamoto, who had sensed it. Sou and Kai were told in confidence, Lev _guessed_ it. Yaku had initiated talk about boyfriends and girlfriends and partners once. They had sat down post receiving balls at serve practice. Yaku hadn’t goaded him into anything, simply allowing Yuuki to confess in private how he had no one before, but felt attracted to guys.

And Kuroo, as captain, had been the first one to know, when he found Yuuki staring at the baseball player’s ‘manly’ practice (which had been in the first week of school, and they’d been half-naked). Yuuki had blurted out why in fact he was staring, and Kuroo had accepted it with a smile and a nod.

“I don’t like that it’s a snake,” Kuroo says after Fukunaga stands up, his analysis of the tattoo done. Yuuki puts on his shirt, his normal training shirt, and puts his hands through the sleeves of his Nekoma jersey as Yaku turns to Kuroo to bicker.

“It’s not for you to like or dislike, alright? And it doesn’t have to do anything with that team.”

Yamamoto growls, shifts back; the stripes mesh into his smaller human form across the ribs, and he waltzes in naked into the club room to retrieve his clothes and become more decent. Once he’s dressed and with all attention on him, he turns to Kai, avoiding Kuroo’s and Yuuki’s gaze. 

“It… is from that team. I… I didn’t think I smelled Shibayama’s person when the shift in reality happened. But I did smell their uniform. There were… more than one present. A source must have helped the soulmate to find Yuuki, and it was definitely not an accident. Most likely a witch who played and poked around in these matters. But I smelled it… Kuroo-san, I smelled him, too.”

“Gaaah,” Kuroo throws his hands in the air, exclaiming a profanity before leaving the room. Yaku watches him, shakes his head. His eyes stay long on the captain now outside of Yuuki’s view, who can tell only because of Yaku’s third eye glowing under his uniform shirt. Kuroo was one of the few who had a very powerful, dangerous gift. Yuuki knew equally that Kuroo had control over it, and surely… even something as big as a soulmate wouldn’t be able to cause Kuroo to lose that control.

After Yaku is sure of it too, he turns his entire being towards Yamamoto. 

“But it’s not… him. You’re sure of that?” 

“I’m a 100% sure.” Yamamoto squares his shoulders, standing straight. His eyes aren’t distant in memory when he relays his information to Yaku. “I smelled Daishou through the rift, not on our part of reality. The spirit we saw didn’t look like him either. And well, Daishou has a girlfriend. It must be someone new on his team though, because I didn’t recognize him at all. A first year, maybe.”

“Same age indeed. I could feel that, when I made my request,” Kai says, speaking for the first time after Yuuki’s return from the nurse’s office. “Afraid, hopeful, lost. Unsure of what he wants and feels at the moment. He thought he may never find someone, and was content in not looking. So this… new thing, the impact of a soulmate tattoo, has shaken him. Lost, because around him, love exist as a normalcy. The everyday drama doesn’t phase him.”

“But there’s also hope,” Fukunaga says, pointing out one of the left out points. “And he was eager to find out more about Shibayama, methods aside.” 

Kai smiles. “I agree with Yamamoto. The help he had must have been a witch. She didn’t mean anything by it, opening a portal to us to just take a peek, or push Shibayama’s person through to make him look. I think it was… maybe the person received more than he bargained for. And Yuuki must have Seen him, too. That’s something that can shake up worlds, seeing your soulmate for the first time.” 

Yuuki becomes ill. No one he knew, no one here, had a soulmate connection. Not the love kind. Kuroo had a good friend in Sawamura who lived in Miyagi, and they could understand each other without using words. There was no mark, no red thread to tie them together. They were friends, only. Fate hadn’t willed them together, even though there was something mightier in their shake of hands or the way they fit together as best friends.

“What should I do, then… you guys know where this… person is,” Yuuki says to the ground, feeling smaller than usual. Kuroo’s reaction didn’t seem pleasant. It was still so strange to think that there was someone fate chose for him, someone who he was meant to meet one way or the other, to have feelings for regardless of what else would happen. He couldn’t think of this… guy as ‘his’ in any way, not yet he couldn’t. 

“We can go, if you like. Or send Kai as a messenger that you’d like to at least see your person in… well… _person_ ,” Yamamoto says, rubbing his neck. “Do a little more normal greeting than using powerful sources and strange magic. Actually warn them, like, normal people would.”

Fukunaga laughs, walking over to Yamamoto and punching his arm. “It’s funny hearing you pass judgement and advice about ‘normal people’ behaviour, Tora.” 

“And don’t be afraid, Shibayama,” Kai interjects from the other side of the room. His face is warm, the smile in place. Hearing the smooth voice makes Yuuki relax. “Connections like this… they’re not final. Your life is still yours. You don’t have to do anything or be anything. With soulmates, things can change and take different directions. There’s no choice to be made right now, and you guys can decide to see things a little less… hectic than all-consuming feelings.”

“I called Daishou. Don’t ask where and how and why I have his number,” Kuroo says upon returning, making everyone look at him when he warns Yaku. “It was as I thought...someone from his… circle established the search, the reverse connection. But the kid on their end is… confused and not yet ready for it. Anyway, soulmates should never be forced to meet. What happened was an accident. I should have somehow recorded this… Daishou Suguru says he’s sorry, and his—the source, too. She—They cannot reverse what happened, but the snake tattoo was bound to happen this week anyway. It just… was a weird experience for us all, and especially for you.”

Kuroo looks at Yuuki, pointing at his shoulder where the snake lies hidden under two layers of fabric. “That… that was spearheaded ahead of its time. It will be mostly passive and stationary, as it wasn’t yet supposed to appear. If it moves, don’t be afraid. Magical tattoos can be whimsical creatures and images. But they have a lot of power, and can be super helpful.”

“And how exactly is that you know that much about the ink?” Yaku asks, a hint of laughter in his voice. Kuroo turns to him, a smile widening on his face. They always had a exchange of wits. Yuuki watches in awe as Kuroo’s words fill the room, of a myth he’s heard and didn’t know was real. Even though he met that team in person.

“Because Sawamura’s entire team carries feather tattoos. They’re bonded, too.The largest bond of fate in Japan, the largest cluster of soulmates.”

 

*

 

*

 

*

 

They find him on the roof of the building. Strictly speaking, the roof was off limits for students. Every once in a while, a couple would find their way up, or a loner who just needed peace and quiet. 

Naoyasu had the feeling he was both; part of a whole, physically lonely. A black cat sleeps in the crook of his elbow. The S. disappeared, and in its wake came a the Japanese hiragana for ‘shi’. Words had been wobbly for a couple of days, while the cat relaxed as usual in some corner of Naoyasu’s body. It gave him solace, seeing that little thing be content and asleep. His body hadn’t taken brunt force after the portal misstep. It was his mind that had difficulty forgetting about the boy he saw.

And how he fell. How Naoyasu tried catching him. 

How Naoyasu held onto him, a connection he couldn’t describe coursing through him.

Later, he found out how he had fallen, Yamaka cushioning the blow with wind magic. Daishou worried, worried ever since, and keeps a close eye on him. Naoyasu only runs when it gets too much, when the unasked questions beat against the shell of his being, making him feel hollow inside. 

They find him, four days later, on the roof of the building. Yamaka keeps her distance, her interest in him peaked. She wasn’t a witch that would brew love potions for silly people, and her best and most frequently given advice was ‘dump them’. Whatever she’s seen, felt, or done on that fateful afternoon made her come check up on him. Daishou reaches him first, slithering around him to come in sight before speaking.

“This is the second time you’re vanishing during lunch. Hey, are you okay?”

Naoyasu looks up to Daishou, not sure how to answer such a light question when he feels such heavy emotions. It’s not just his own feelings that slip and slide into his consciousness and make him flee the real world to look for a better one. While he deals with heartache of wanting something he’s never knew was missing, there’s also the feelings of another person he has to consider. An over-stimulation to the mind and the heart and his very core. When Naoyasu starts crying, it’s silent drops he cannot stop, and he doesn’t make a sound.

Daishou sits next to him, reaching a hand out to Naoyasu slowly. He gives enough time for Naoyasu to pull away, to hide. He doesn’t.

“...Is this what it is supposed to feel like..?”

“No, well. Not like despair. It can cause heavy emotions. Heavier with… well, true love. But we don’t know about that yet,” Daishou says, his eyes looking forward. “If you need to sleep or have concentration problems, say the word. Mika wants to help. She feels bad for… allowing what happened. She didn’t know you could… travel through the rift of distances and just… touch your soulmate in such a way.” 

Daishou’s hand on his wrist is warm, and calming. The gesture means more than words to Naoyasu, who hears them in his head. ‘You’ll be fine, and he will be, too.’

 

*

 

*

 

*

 

The snake keeps playing games on him. Yuuki was fresh out of the bath after training. On Saturdays, their school had just half days, and club activities held in the afternoon would be short also. Yuuki had no plans of going anywhere else, so he took the time for a bath, then settled on his bed early in his pajamas. Biting his lip, he watches as his new snake tattoo coils on his wrist, hissing at him. Unable to hear the hiss as this tattoo was soundless, Yuuki shakes his head at it. 

“I don’t know what you want,” he says. His parents hadn’t known how to react to his new… acquisition. Yuuki hadn’t been able to talk about it, to truly lay open what all happened during a simple match. He couldn’t hid it, either. Magical tattoos, especially animals, were playful. They would wander the shell they were printed upon, eager to understand their new host. Most tattoos would try and converse between the fated. So Yuuki had come home, ran to his room, and waited for both his parents to be present before he told them what happened. A short version, and a lot of ‘I don’t know’s over the dinner table. Yuuki didn’t want to seek out help, either, as his parents had presented to him.

He couldn’t force this. His… other person has done so, well, a little, and on accident. 

Yet here was a little black snake, trying to tell him something. Yuuki holds his wrist without covering the tattoo, and shakes it.

“I don’t know what you want!” He says, a little more desperate than he wants to sound. Yuuki knows the tattoo can’t do anything about it. Except… giving hints. Currently, it’s tail goes around the initial of Yuuki’s bonded other. They haven’t bonded yet, face to face. Yet Yuuki already thinks of him this way. As the thought runs up his chest, the snake’s tongue comes out for a hiss, and it’s eyes form happy slits. Yuuki’s stomach drops when he watches little black hearts come off the snake’s scales, but they pop away, gone within a heartbeat. Watching his veins below the tattoo, Yuuki takes a deep breath. 

It was supposed to be a blessed, joyful occasion. Soulmates were a big, beautiful deal. They could bring so much stability and fun into one’s life. Yuuki just wasn’t sure he was ready to be that kind of person, to give all that to his ‘one’. Even if they would decide to be just friends, if they meet and the spark of love wasn’t there… it was a huge responsibility. 

The snake curls up on itself, its tail forming a heart around the initials. Then from it’s scales, small pixelated black dots drop down. Yuuki sits up, holding his wrist in the late afternoon light. It’s a map. Mouth opening without a sound, Yuuki watches as a rough model of his house appears. A crinkly line appears, and at its end, another house. 

“What the—” Yuuki bites his lip, slowly getting up and out of bed. He holds his wrist again, feeling his pulse. A strange beats rocks him sideways, like he’s in heavy water and being pushed by the stream. Nausea rises up for a second, but he quickly gets used to it, his body calming down. When he holds his wrist one way, the swaying is light, pulling rather than pushing him either way. Overcome with excitement at this magical happening, Yuuki decides to get dressed. 

In his room, Yuuki locates his school bag, and gets rid of all the school supplies. Taking it downstairs, he picks up a banana from the kitchen, and something to drink. Ready with a couple supplies, Yuuki says goodbye to his mother, and leaves the house.

Outside, he holds his wrist up again, and it pulls him to his front door gate. The snake hisses in excitement, too, its head poking out from the coils. The houses have become smaller, the crinkly road between lengthening. An actual map to his destined person. Yuuki doesn’t know why, unable to sense anything but his own emotions running wild. The tattoo tells him, both on the road map and when he holds his wrist out, where to go. He has an inner compass now, and follows it as much as he can. 

The closer he gets, the shorter the crinkly road becomes. His house isn’t on his skin anymore, and the other’s house becomes a little bigger. Yuuki has read up on magical tattoos with Kuroo in the library after getting his. They spent an hour or so reading instead of doing homework, or Kuroo tutoring Yuuki. Nothing mentioned elaborated road maps like this to your fated one. Yuuki forgets all of his anxiety, given that his tattoo leads the way. 

With a black swish, all of that ends. The house disappears, the road disappears. The actual sidewalk Yuuki walks on is gone too. The snake on his wrist uncoils, sliding over his wrist, over the back of his arm, in one straight circle. Yuuki looks at it, becoming hypnotized by the black line slithering over his wrist. A blow hits him, like the sea he felt in his room, and he’s thrown out of reality, and into another one. Next to him was a wall, he’s sure of it.

But Yuuki lands on grass. He stumbles to the side, which way he’s been blown. The snakes stops spinning in its mild chase after its own tail, and curls up, as before; tail pointing downwards, the roman letter K. at its side. Next to it, hiragana, spelling out ‘nao’. the head pointed to the side, tongue out. Yuuki breathes as if he just finished a 400 meter sprint, then looks up to the only figure present besides him.

He lies on the grass, brown-reddish hair in stark contrast to it. His eyes are empty, tears flowing. Lips murmur words Yuuki cannot hear, as the boy stares at his arm. Coming closer, Yuuki’s excitement has gone to fear, to worry, to a warmth that spreads from his arm. The pull is incredible here, but gentle in it’s push. Yuuki glances once more at his own tattoo, then speaks the name.

“Nao… Nao-kun?” He says, watching as empty eyes look up to him. The boy doesn’t move otherwise. Yuuki kneels down, reaching out on instinct alone. They mentioned a witch, who made their first meeting possible. It felt like witchcraft, being swung from the street he walked on to here. Yuuki looks down to the black spot on the boy’s arm, and he sees a black cat sprawled, yawning, then settling. His own snake turns it head towards it, content to stay still otherwise. 

There was no mistake. This was his soulmate.

And he was in deep emotional pain. 

Blinking, Yuuki’s knees settle in the grass, and he pulls the boy’s head on his lap, caressing his head. Arms loop around him, as if Yuuki would decide to get up and leave any second. After he traveled here, lord knows how. Humming one of the last songs he’s heard, Yuuki looks down at the person. His person. The one he vaguely saw through shadow and smoke. 

Their tattoos colour. Yuuki’s snake turns green and yellow, the scales in the green hues, while it’s stomach defines itself in the softer yellow tone. Yuuki watches it, until all black is gone. The boy, whose name might be Nao, or at least start like that, shows off his own. He must have felt the change, as he couldn’t have seen it. The cat turns red mostly, having white ears, white paws, and a white nose. Yuuki laughs at that.

“My libero uniform is mostly white, with red accents.”

The boy smiles, his eyes closing again. “A libero… I play wing spiker position.”

“Are you a regular on your team?” Yuuki asks, his voice gentle. The boy shakes his head on Yuuki’s lap.

“And you’re not either. I saw you on the sidelines…”

“Yeah, we have Yaku-san. He’s a third year, and incredible at saving everything,” Yuuki says, finding himself talking about his teammates one by one. By the time he’s done talking about Sou and Lev, he’s embarrassed. “Oh my, I talk and talk and hardly introduced myself… My name is Shibayama, Yuuki.”

“Nice to meet you… for real this time. I’m Kuguri Naoyasu. But you can call me Nao, if you like,” Naoyasu says, his eyes looking up to Yuuki. “Sorry about… all of it. I didn’t mean for it to happen the way it did. I thought… I thought you might hate me, and not wanting to meet. Messing up like that… and that the cat disappeared for a while. I couldn’t see it, not until… not until you jumped out of that uhm… portal?”

“And that’s how you ended up crying in your backyard, calling out to me all the same,” Yuuki says, overcome with emotion. Of course. His soulmate needed him. The cat must have… done something. Run off or having other abilities. Yuuki doesn’t know, but they can explore all of that, together. “My snake was playful, and then it showed me a road to you. I don’t know how I happened to jump exactly to where you are, but I guess it was high emergency.” 

“Yeah, again. Sorry about it. May I invite you in? After a while… I think I can stand in a bit,” Naoyasu says, relaxing into Yuuki’s lap. Yuuki shakes his head, not minding one bit. 

 

*

 

*

 

*

 

The murder stare down at him from their high perched seats on top of the wires. Naoyasu looks up to him, knowing the most basic account of the omens the crows and ravens might bring. These were crows, smaller in form, more abundant in their uncalled loudness. Staring into one’s inner being. 

Yuuki follows his line of sight, then tells him about the day Naoyasu made the connection. How a murder had appeared at Yuuki’s school, cawing in a language no one understood. 

“They flew in two groups, opposite direction… Yeah that’s fated love alright,” Naoyasu says, tapping into the knowledge witch Yamaka had told him. Fated signs he could look for, whenever he thinks he’d be ready to meet his person. Not that it was necessary anymore; their ink took care of it all for them. Circling his thumb over Yuuki’s hand which he holds in his, Naoyasu tears his gaze away from the row of crows, and looks down to his boyfriend. 

“Again, apologies for scaring you like that,” Naoyasu says, as he’s said a couple times in the last week. Yuuki, as usual, gives him a warm smile and shakes his head, making his bangs hit his forehead. Yanmaka has met him and apologizes as well, wanting to know everything about the rift she created, the way Naoyasu has been ‘present’ at the other side of Tokyo. They hadn’t formally introduced each other to their respective teams yet, wanting to take some time first to get to know each other.

Hand-holding was easy. Naoyasu was glad he suggested it by simply running his pinky finger over the back of Yuuki’s hand. The telepathic link was weak between them, but touching each other helps to know what they want, need.

Their tattoos would always rest closest to each other, or play hide and seek. Naoyasu smiles as they continue walking. Currently, their tattoos were chilling at the pulses, cozying up together.

**Author's Note:**

> So yeah I definitely would like to take this more high fantasy and like, have them go through some drama/love stuff?? (like having drama coming for them, but battling it together, through the power of love .v.b)
> 
> Any suggestions would be nice :D~~


End file.
